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Fatih Akin

Fatih Akin, the German-born son of Turkish immigrants, wrote and directed his first film, "Short Sharp Shock," in 1998 and won immediate acclaim for his sympathetic portrayal of ethnic German youth struggling to find their identities. Akin, who has made the issue of Turkish culture and values a recurring theme in his work, found major international success with his 2004 film, "Head-On," which chronicles the life of a Turkish man who gives up on life after the death of his wife. The following year he directed the Turkish music documentary "Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul," which featured interviews and performances from many actors and musicians. The well-received documentary was narrated by "Head-On" composer Alexander Hacke, a member of the groundbreaking experimental music group Einstürzende Neubauten. Akin 's 2007 drama, "The Edge of Heaven," garnered international accolades for its powerful story of a man who travels to Istanbul to find a long-lost love, and was also selected (but not accepted) as Germany's Oscar entry that year. A few years later, Akin contributed a segment to "New York, I Love You," an anthology film set in New York City, and directed a short film for the German docu-series "Deutschland 09-13 kurze Filme zur Lage der Nation."